This invention relates to a tire testing machine having a loadwheel and, more particularly, the invention is directed to apparatus for cleaning the loadwheel.
In a tire testing machine, such as a tire uniformity machine, a tire and a large diameter loadwheel are brought together with the tire usually driving the loadwheel. Variations in the spin of the loadwheel are measured to determine the characteristics of the tire. It is important to have a perfectly cylindrical loadwheel and to drive the loadwheel without slip between the tire and loadwheel, for if the loadwheel is slightly out of round, or if the tire slips with respect to the loadwheel, those imperfections will be reflected in the determination of the uniformity of the tire, producing inaccurate results.
The prior practice has been to wrap the cylindrical surface of the loadwheel with a stair tread paper, that is, an anti-slip paper having grit in its surface. When the grit surface has become clogged with rubber from the repeated testing operations, the paper is then removed and replaced with fresh stair tread paper.
Unfortunately, the character of the stair tread paper has varied so that it is no longer suitable for tire testing machines. It has been replaced by coating the loadwheel surface with a grit-carrying substance resulting in a grit-roughened surface on the loadwheel.
In the course of repeated testing operations, the grit becomes clogged with rubber. The current practice has been to clean the wheel periodically, sometimes as often as every day, with a solvent and brush.